I'll protect you, I promise -Phan-
by kittyxuchiha11
Summary: Dan runs away with his newborn little sister, hoping he can help her have the life he always wanted. As a seventeen year old boy raising a child isn't easy. what happens when a mysterious blue eyed boy named Phil takes an interest in them both. Please read. I promise it'll be good. you know i'm terrible at writing summaries D:
1. Chapter 1

"Shh. Don't cry. Please. Please. It'll all be okay" I hushed her, holding her close to my chest as I crouched behind a bin to catch my breath.

"I think I heard it"

"Where?"

"He couldn't of gotten far"

"He's hiding a baby. Come on people. He should be easy to find. Just follow the cries"

"There are no cries. It's stopped"

"It's a new born baby. It'll start again soon"

"Shit shit shit" she moved in my arms slightly. Making a small noise of complaint.

"I definitely heard something. Over there"

"We should probably call the police you know"

"We don't need them. He's only a kid. We can stop him ourselves"

I took a deep breath, clutching her tightly in my arms as I ran.

"There! Look, he's getting away"

"Catch him then!"

Loud thuds of footsteps behind me.

"We just want to talk. Stop, please!"

"Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Dan!"

I rounded a corner then another, not even looking behind me. I just needed to get away. Lose them for long enough so I could get a plan together.

Everything will be fine.

It'll be fine.

I stopped eventually, collapsing against a wall. I closed my eyes for moment, attempting to concentrate on getting my breath back. She squirmed in my arms again. Her eyes opening slightly to look at me. I smiled back, gently stroking her face with my finger.

"Hey you. It's okay. The bad people have gone now. It's just you and me"

She grumbled, closing her eyes again. It was only in that moment that I realized she was probably hungry. What was I supposed to do about that? I didn't have any milk for her. Well obviously. I didn't have any formula or anything. It was the middle of the night and I knew if I went to any of the stores now id get caught. I needed to keep a low profile with her.

I wrapped the blanket around her tightly. I had money. I knew this would happen so I have all my savings. I took money from mum and dad aswell. I'll have enough, enough for food until I figure something out.

"We'll be fine-" I paused, looking down at her "You don't have a name yet. Mum was still too tired to name you…I guess it's up to me then"

I held her close to me, trying to keep her warm. It was summer luckily so I didn't have to try too hard. The cool summer breeze brushed my face as a million thoughts ran thoughts my head.

What was I even doing?

I was sitting in a dark alleyway with. Whatever her name is, pressed tightly against me.

I just needed to clear my head. Set my priority's straight. A name. I need to pick a name for her.

"How about…Alice?"

She squirmed making a little noise. I didn't really know what she was trying to tell me by that noise. Maybe she liked the name. Yeah, probably did.

"Do you like that, the name Alice?" she opened her eye's, looking up at me sleepily. Maybe she really did like that name. A small cry escaped her lips as he looked up at me. I held her against me again, rubbing her back softly.

"Shh. It's okay. Everything will be alright. I'll protect you, I promise"


	2. Chapter 2

"So, you want to get a job here?"

"Yes"

"Well, you look like an able young man. You've proven yourself to be a nice guy from this interview"

"Thank you sir- oh shit"

I mentally kicked myself for swearing in front of the god damn manager of this place. I just had to swear didn't I. In an interview no less. It's not my fault. Alice gave me a fright when she started crying.

It had been two weeks since that night. Id been on the run the whole time. Id managed to sneak back to the house and grab as much baby things as I could. I was now attempting to find a job anywhere really. So here I was. Sitting in an interview to work at Starbucks. Yeah, I know. What a crap place to work. It may not have been much money but it would get us by until I figured out what to do.

We'd made it pretty far away. We were now in a completely new town all together. I wasn't sure if I was incredibly lucky or the police were just really bad at their job. We were at least five towns over and no one seemed to be suspicious at all. Maybe id actually gotten away with this.

"Sorry. Sorry" I apologized, quickly scoping Alice into my arms. She did stop crying at least, only making little unhappy sounds. "I'm so sorry"

The guy had a new sort of look in his eye as he looked at me. "Is she the reason you want this job?"

"Yeah. I um, I need the money to look after her"

"Is she yours?"

Quick think of a lie.

"Um, yeah. Her mum died while giving birth" I paused, using those fake tears id learned how to create from all those years of stage school "It was…pretty tragic. My parents disowned me so…we only have each other" I sniffled, wiping my eyes.

That should do. I'm only seventeen. That sounds like believable story. Right? He'll believe it.

Everything will be fine.

"Oh, wow. I'm so sorry. That must be so hard for you. I have a wife and kids at home"

I smiled, tightening my grip around Alice. He actually believed me.

"You're seventeen, right?"

"Yeah" I nodded.

"Well, I'm not supposed to start you on this pay level until you're over eighteen but…I know how hard it is to be a dad. Can you start tomorrow? Don't worry about the paper work. I'll just pay you by hand until I sort that out"

"Wow. Really? Thank you so so much"

"No problem. If you ever need any help you can come to me" he held out his hand to me, flashing me a small smile. "It's a pleasure to have you on board"

I shook his hand, showing him that same smile back. With the money he was offering I could even afford to maybe rent a small flat. We wouldn't have to sleep on the streets anymore. Who knew all my years of acting could do something like this.

It was only when I was strapping Alice back into her carrier that I realized the biggest problem. "Um…" I said quietly, grabbing the mans attention again "I know it would be really un professional of me but…could I bring her into work with me?…"

"Of course. I mean, as long as you get the work done. Everyone loves cute babies and she is just adorable. What's her name?"

"Alice"

"Well, Alice. You sure are a little cutie" he smiled "Cute little girls like you actually attract more customers. You wouldn't believe the amount of customers he had last time one of our employees brought her daughter in"

"Thank you so much, again. I mean, just. Thank you"

"No problem lad. See you tomorrow"

We shook hands again then I left. I made my way back to our alleyway that was pretty much our home. When I had went home I took as many bags and blankets as possible. I felt kinda proud actually. Alice was doing fine and so was I. It had only been two weeks, but. I was doing fine. It really was like I was a dad. I still couldn't believe that guy believed my sob story though. Then again. I guess stuff like that does happen.

I sighed softly, holding Alice close to my chest as I leaned my head back against the wall. She made a little grumpy noise, threatening to cry again. I rubbed her back while trying to reach into the bag to pull out a bottle. I found one, pulling it out and holding it up to inspect it. I think you're supposed to warm it up, but yeah. I couldn't exactly. I think I read somewhere that it does matter if it's warm or not. Lets just hope that's right. It's bad enough she's on formula already.

"Come on Alice. Lets have some milk then we can take a little nap"

I pressed the bottle to her lips, watching her little eyes slip closed as she began to drink it.

It was surprisingly dark for the time of day. It was slowly becoming evening, but still. It's light until like 10pm or something in summer. Yet here we were at about six and it was getting dark. Or maybe it was just because this place is so under cover. It was a good thing I guess. I didn't want Alice to get to hot or it being to bright for her to sleep. The air was actually warm so she wouldn't get too cold either.

My stomach rumbled, reminding me of the fact that I haven't eaten in about two days. I was just so wrapped up in looking after Alice I kinda forgot about myself. I got my stuff together, making sure I had money in my pocket, before making my way back to Starbucks. Some food and a coffee would do nicely just now.

"Hey Dan. Couldn't stay away?"

I smiled at the guy. So the manager was on the shop floor. That's kinda cool. "Yeah. Well, I just thought. Why not come here for a snack, you know. Get to know the coffee and stuff for when I work here"

He laughed, signalling me to come over to the till "Yeah. Good one. Here. Pick something of the menu and it'll be on me"

"Are you sure. You don't need to"

"I'm sure. Come on. I told you id help you out"

I smiled at him and picked the biggest drink and snack there was. That would last for me for at least today and tomorrow. I sat down on one of the couches with my drink, trying to keep an eye on all my bags and Alice without spilling my drink.

"Do you need a hand there?"

My eyes were meet with shining blue ones when I looked up. A boy who looked a couple years older than me was smiling down at me. He moved his dark hair out of his eyes as he helped me secure my bags on the floor next to me.

"She's cute. Look at her" the guy said, perching on the couch next to me. Well, next to Alice since I had her between us. Her little eyes opened as if on cue.

"Aw. She's gorgeous. What's her name? actually, what's your name?"

"I'm Dan and this is Alice" I said softly, sorting the blanket around her.

"She is so adorable. She has your eyes"

"Thanks…I guess" I replied with a small smile.

"I'm Phil by the way"

"It's nice to meet you…Phil"


	3. Chapter 3

"Aw! Look at her, she's so cute!"

"Oh my god I know"

"It's not fair, I want one"

I smiled softly as I heard the group of girls who were currently crowded around Alice. This was a usual occurrence. Groups of girls all coming in and crowding around her, talking about how thy all wanted cute little babies.

It was the end of my second week of working here. It actually wasn't too bad. All I had to do was learn how to work the machines and the till. I was pretty much an expert within a few days. I mean, it wasn't a particularly hard job. Not with everyone who came in only paying attention to Alice anyway.

"You back again to look at her?"

"I just had to bring my friends to see her, she's so cute"

I looked up to see Phil standing at the back of the group of girls. He had been such a huge help. Coming here everyday for at least a few hours to watch over Alice while I worked. Phil and I had become friends almost instantly. That evening we met we sat there on that couch and just talked about everything. I just felt naturally comfortable around him. Maybe that was what having a best friend was like. Id never had a best friend before, actually, id not really had a proper friend before.

A smile tugged at my lips as I continued to make the coffee I was supposed to be making. The girl at the counter grinned at me as I handed her her coffee.

"She's yours, right?"

I looked over to Alice who was now being held by Phil while another group of girls all cooed at her. "Yeah"

"I knew it. She looks just like you. You're lucky you have such a cute daughter" she said as she handed me the money.

"I guess I am" I answered with a small smile. She flashed me another quick grin before walking over to the table her friends were sitting at. I could tell from their excited laughs that the girl was supposed of come up here to try get my number or something. Another group of girls playing the 'let's try get the hot guys number'. I had no idea why they wanted my number in the first place. I mean, I was anything but attractive. There was absolutely nothing desirable about me at all.

"Oh look Alice, daddy is day dreaming again" Phil said softly pointing at me "Let's go tell him to get on with his work shall we?" He walked over to the counter and held one of Alice's hands with his fingers and made her wave her tiny hand at me "Get back to work daddy" he said in a silly little voice, laughing to himself. I laughed too, smiling at him.

Okay, I hadn't actually told anyone the truth yet. It was better that everyone thought she was my daughter. Everyone just thought I had moved to this town to get a new start after my 'girlfriend' passed away. They really didn't suspect a thing. I wasn't sure if mum and dad had given up or not. I don't think they would have but…I don't know. I couldn't ever go back to them. Not after…that. No, I could never let Alice have that life. I wouldn't let her.

"Dan? Earth to Dan? Day dreaming at work is not a good thing to do"

My head snapped up to look at Phil. He had a strange expression on his face. I think it could have been concern but I'm not sure.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just a little tired" that wasn't exactly a lie. I had been only getting about two hours sleep a night. Since we were still sleeping on the streets I had to stay a wake to look out.

"If you say so" he paused, averting his gaze for a second before looking into my eyes "Hey, um. I don't suppose you wanna come back to mine after you finish here. You can bring Alice with you of course"

I tried to contain my excitement as I replied "Sure. That sounds cool" we would actually be in a house for a while. A nice, warm house. The weather recently had been a nightmare. It had rained for at least the last week. I managed to find us a little sheltered bit in the alleyway we were in. I didn't mind getting a little wet. Alice was all I really cared about now.

"Great, you finish in like an hour, right?"

"Yeah. I just need to collect my wages then we can head straight to yours"

"Okay, I'll stick around here until then"

************************************************** *******************

"Here you go Dan. Here's a little extra. Get yourself a little treat alright?"

"Thank you so much, I'll see you on Monday"

Bill, the manger, nodded smiling at me before going into the back room. Phil stood up from the seat he was sitting in and walked over to me. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me get Alice's stuff together"

"Already got it" he said, motioning over to where all my bags and Alice were sitting.

So we made our way to Phil's apartment. Phil had insisted that he carried most of the bags. I just had to carry Alice in her little carrier while we walked. I had to stop myself from laughing a few times as Phil about fell over from the weight of the bags. That's what he gets for trying to act like the gentleman.

We arrived at his apartment in about ten minutes of walking. He really didn't live that far away.

"So, this is it" he said, holding the door open for me. I made my way inside, looking at him nervously as he closed the door. "What are you waiting for" he smiled "Go have a seat in the lounge while I make us a cup of tea" I nodded, slowly walking in the direction he had pointed. I stumbled into a decent sized lounge with two couches. I looked around nervously before sort of perching on the edge of one. Alice began to grumble as she woke up.

"Hey Alice, look at this. We're actually in a nice house"

"Thanks for the compliment" Phil said with a smile as he walked into the room with two mugs in his hand. He set them both down on the small coffee table in front of us then sat down beside me. He gently sorted a crease on Alice's little white dress before carefully moving her carrier onto the coffee table.

"See, now daddy and I can both look at your cute little face"

Phil was actually amazing with her. To say he had only known her for about two weeks he really did act like a sort of parent to her.

"Thanks" I said quietly, our eyes locking.

"For what?"

"For just…being like this. With Alice"

He smiled "It's not big deal. I'm glad I could help you"

He leaned down slightly. For a slit second I thought her was going to kiss me then I felt his arms wrap around me in a hug. He laughed softly as he saw the shocked expression on my face. "What? Is it that weird to hug your friends or something?"

"No, it's just…hugs are nice"

He grinned, hugging me again. This time it felt different though. He tightened his grip around me. I unsurely leaned into him, leaning my head on his shoulder. He still kept his arms around me, not saying a word. I just felt so comfortable in that moment. I felt my eyes begin to slip close. I knew I really shouldn't be sleeping at a time like this but I really couldn't help it. I felt safe for the first time in years and I was just so exhausted.

************************************************** *******************

I awoke feeling warm and refreshed for once. That's when I realized. I wasn't in the alleyway. I was on a couch with a blanket draped over me. In a house. My eyes shot open as I sat up.

"Relax, it's Saturday. You don't have work until Monday"

I looked towards the doorway where the voice had come from. There stood Phil, shirtless, holding Alice in his arms. I blinked a few times, trying to wake myself up enough to understand what was going on.

"You fell asleep here yesterday. Seriously, I just had to hug you and you went straight to sleep" he smirked "It was kinda cute actually"

I blushed slightly, rubbing my eyes while yawning. "Sorry about that" I said sheepishly. He just smiled, walking over to join me on the couch "It's fine, really. We enjoyed ourselves didn't we Alice?"

I couldn't help but smile just watching Phil with her. They looked perfect. More like, he looked perfect. Wait, did I just call Phil perfect? He's my friend. A really nice friend who gives good hugs. But still. Only a friend.

"I know I'm probably gonna sound like a real creep but do you maybe wanna say with me for a while? I mean, you don't have to but I would be more than happy to help with Alice"

I was honestly so shocked I kinda forgot how to talk in that moment. He was offering to have us stay with him? I must have still been dreaming. No way anything this good could ever happen to me.

"I, um. If you don't mind. That would be great. I just" I bit my lip as tears began to make their way down my cheeks.

"Whoa, Dan. What's wrong?" he asked, quickly placing Alice down before wrapping his arms around me. I hugged him back, burying my head in his chest as I sobbed. I had no idea where this had come from. I guess I was just so happy.

"I'm s-sorry, I just. Thank you so much"

He pulled away just enough to look into my eyes and gently wiped away my tears. He smiled, keeping his hand cupping my cheek "Is my house that bad that you need to cry about it?"

I laughed despite the tears that were still running down my cheeks. "No…I'm just…happy"

"Good, I'm glad I make you happy" he answered with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dan, where's the formula? I think she's hungry"

"In the cupboard, where it always is?"

"Okay, let me look"

I had to stop myself from laughing at that one. He asked me before even looking in the cupboard? Such a Phil thing to do.

"It's not there"

"Well, then we're out"

Phil came into the room with a rather frustrated little Alice in his arms. We had been living here with him for about the past week. He'd been so good to both of us. Alice actually had a crib now and everything. He did seem a little surprised when he realized the bags I carried around everywhere were all I had. He didn't ask about it though. That's the great thing about Phil. He doesn't ask questions no matter how many things seem out of place.

He's been a really amazing friend.

He sat down beside me on the couch before sighing heavily. "Aliceeee. Why won't you stop cryingggggg?" he whined dramatically, pulling a face at her. She actually stopped for a moment, making small unhappy whimpering noises.

"You might have actually done it" I said, nudging him gently. No more than five seconds after the words have left my mouth she started to shriek again.

"If only"

He gave me a small smile before handing Alice over to me. He then stood up, stretching his arms above his head before turning to me again "I'll go get some formula real quick. Maybe you can stop her crying in the meantime"

"Okay, try hurry. I think she is hungry"

He threw a grin over his shoulder at me as he slipped on his shoes "Of course, darling" he teased, laughing to himself before leaving the house. A smile tugged at my lips at his comment.

He really was perfect.

A rather loud cry from Alice brought me back to reality. I lifted her to my chest and cuddled her. I gently patted her back, trying desperately to at least sooth her. She had never really cried like this before. And honestly, it was really scaring me.

"Shh, it's okay baby. What wrong? Are you hungry. Daddy- I mean, I'll get you some nice milk when Phil gets back" I paused fore a moment, trying to think of anything that would possibly quiet her down. That's when it hit me.

"Hey, Alice. Do you wanna watch some TV. Yeah. TV sounds good, doesn't it?"

I reached for the remote while trying to keep a hold of her. I successfully turned on the TV. As soon as the colourful pictures appeared on screen Alice's cries stopped. I held her in my arms as her eyes widened with amazement. I laughed softly to myself as I watched her. She looked so cute.

"And now, for the news"

I looked back up to the screen to see a smartly dressed woman shuffling her pile of paper. Why did they do that?. I mean, everyone knows that nothings written on the paper they hold. She introduced herself before moving onto her first story. I didn't even realize I had a smile on my face until I felt it drop.

"The search for the young seventeen year old Daniel is still in process. There was a reported sighting of him last week on the outskirts of Middleton. The police are looking into this. He was said to have been seen without the girl so police are sceptical if this could be the boy they're looking for. We'll keep you updated on this story as we receive more information. Onto our next story"

No. This couldn't be happening. They must have seen me when Phil took us to Middleton last weekend. No. This was bad. Really, really bad. Shit. I turned the TV off and just stared at the now blank screen.

"Alice…oh my god…What if they find us Alice? What am I supposed to do? I can't give you to them. I'll never give you to them."

Tears began to sting my eyes as I looked down at her. She looked back up at me with her big brown eyes. She was beautiful, perfect. I just couldn't let them have her. They would ruin her life like they ruined mine. I couldn't let her go through that. The tears were streaming down my face now. I quickly placed her in her carrier that was sitting on the coffee table then place my head in my hands.

What was I supposed to do?

************************************************** *******************

"Dan. I'm back" I heard Phil call out cheerfully. I tried to stop my sobs as I heard him enter the room but it was no use.

"I tried to be quick but the line was really long and they had- Dan? What's wrong?"

I only sobbed louder as I heard his voice. I just couldn't keep myself together. I felt him sit beside me before his arms wrapped around my shaking shoulders tightly. "Dan…" he whispered softly "Tell me what's wrong…please?"

"I…I c-can't" I stuttered, pulling at my hair slightly. I wanted to stop crying and just smile at him. Tell him everything was fine. But I couldn't. because it wouldn't be. Everything was falling apart.

"Dan, please"

I took a deep, shaky breath "I just…I can't"

"But why, why won't can't you tell me?"

"Because you'll hate me. You'll call me all the names they have. I'll lose the one person who…who I actually care about"

"Oh…Dan" he said softly before he tightened his grip around me. "Please look at me" I shook my head harshly, sniffling softly as I managed to get my breathing under control. The tears still dripped down my face. When I started crying I just couldn't stop. "Please" he begged as he moved to sit in front of me on the floor. He tried to look up into my eyes but I wouldn't let him.

"No…you'll hate me. I can't deal with you hating me"

"Dan. I won't hate you, I promise. Just look at me for a minute"

I reluctantly opened my eyes and looked into his amazing blue ones. He smiled softly as my gaze met his. "There we go" he said softly, using his hand to gently brush my fringe out of my eyes. I smiled back at him shyly. I couldn't help it. My world may have been collapsing around me but he could still make me smile.

"Look, Dan. I don't know what you're going to tell me but whatever it is it won't change my opinion of you. You're someone who I really care about. I…I really like you Dan. I will never, ever hate you. I don't think I ever could. You just mean so much to me. You have no idea how happy you and Alice have made me"

"You…you care about me?"

He smiled, ruffling my hair gently "Of course I do Silly" his expression turned more serious again as he gazed into my eyes "I have a lot more feelings than care Dan. I like you. Like, really, really like you"

"Like me, like-" I began to say but before I could finish his lips were on mine. I looked into his eyes, too shocked to kiss back or do anything actually. He smiled against my lips, pulling away slightly "You've stopped crying"

I blushed furiously, averting my gaze from his as he laughed softly. He took my hands in his, sitting beside me on the couch again. "Do you feel better now?"

I nodded.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

I kept my eyes locked on our hands, thinking over if I wanted to tell him or not.

"Dan? Do you?"

I hesitated, but then looked into his eyes nervously and nodded. He let go of my hands and pulled me into his arms. At that moment Alice began to threaten to cry again.

"Do you want to have a cuddle with daddy and me?" he asked her, leaning around me and picking her up. He then carefully placed her in my arms. I leaned into his chest closing my eyes and taking a quick breath as I felt his arms wrap around me.

"I'm not her dad"

"What?"

"I'm not Alice's dad. She's my sister. I…I ran away with her to get away from our parents"

"Okay…but, why?"

I sighed, hugging Alice close to my chest. "She would have died if I let them have her"


	5. Chapter 5

"I…I don't understand" Phil said softly, looking into my eyes "Why would she have died?"

"Forget it. You won't understand"

"No. No, Dan. Please. Just explain this to me. Please"

I sighed, looking to Alice as she looked up at me. I really didn't want to explain all this to Phil. He would definitely think differently of me. But… he liked me, so maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he would still like me.

"Mum and dad are…not exactly nice. You see…"

"Please just tell me"

I bit my lip before looking into his eyes once again.

"They're like…leaders of this gang. I know it sounds really stupid but it's really serious. It's not like a street gang. It's like…I don't know. They kill people. They're really, really horrible people"

"They kill people? Like who?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Anyone they don't like. They've always run this weird business thing. They're just as bad as each other. Through my whole life they'd have all these girls arranged to be engaged to me then wait until I actually became friends with them. Then they'd have them killed, just like that. They'd laugh at me every time I cried about it. They're horrible people"

"Dan…I'm so sorry…"

"That's not even the worse bit. Every single person I ever cared for got taken away from me. That's why you…you mean so much and I don't want them to get their hands on you. I'm scared Phil. I'm absolutely terrified they'll find me and hurt you. They'll hurt you…and me, and…"

I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt Phil wipe away a tear. He smiled softly as he looked into my eyes. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine" he whispered before wrapping his arms around me, being careful not to smoother Alice who was still in my arms.

"You didn't want her to go through all that. That's why you did it right? God, that's awful. I would have done the same thing" Phil said softly as he gently stroked Alice's tiny hairs on her head.

"Yeah…I just couldn't let her go through that. They completely ruined my life. I just couldn't let them do the same to her. I don't think mum even wanted her. Dad wanted a daughter. Mum couldn't care less if she had any more children. But dad… he wouldn't be happy until he had a daughter. He killed my brother when he was only about a week old. He came home from what they call a 'business trip' to find out it was a boy, and not a girl. He went straight to the crib and smothered my little brother to death." I paused for a moment, fighting back tears once again. That had been four years ago…I still remembered it like it was yesterday. "I tried to stop him but I was too late. He only wants a daughter so he can marry her of to an even worse gang so he has more power. He's just…I hate him"

Phil let a small choked noise escape his lips before pressing his lips against mine in a strong kiss. I closed my eyes, letting my tears flow freely. I felt his wet cheek pressed against mine as he tightened his grip around me.

We sat there for sometime. Hugs and kisses serving as our only comfort from each other. He seemed just as upset as I was. Alice just lay there in my arms, not making a sound. I was sure she would have cried or something but she just lay there, making the occasional gurgling noise. It was almost like she knew what was going on. I knew that was impossible though. She's a month old. She can barely lift her head. She had no idea the pain I was feeling. I didn't blame her though. I had no feelings of hatred towards her. I loved her with all my heart. It was almost as if she really was my daughter. I loved her like she was my own.

She eventually did start to cry again. Phil wiped his eyes and looked down at her. "She must be really hungry now" he laughed softly to himself. Even though his voice cracked his laugh really did sound happy "Come on then, let's get you milk. Let's leave-" he looked at me, our gazes meeting as he obviously tried to think of what to call me now he knew the truth.

"I'll stay here while Phil gets you some milk" I said, wiping my own eyes before handing her over to him. He nodded before heading to the kitchen with her in his arms. I sighed heavily before leaning back against the couch. Although my mind was clouded with a million thoughts a small smile still pulled at my lips. That's the affect Phil had on me.

He was amazing.

************************************************** *******************

"Oh my god. She's back again! We need to go in and see her"

The girls were back in the store again to see Alice. I swear, the only reason this place has so many customers is because of her.

"Be careful now. She might get scared from all you guys circling her like pray" Phil said with a small smirk tugging at his lips.

"Shut up you. She loves us" One of the girls said with a matching smirk then laughed.

"No way" Phil grinned as he moved into the circle of girls and carefully picked Alice up "She loves me though. Isn't that right Alice?" he asked her in his silly little voice. He gently touched her hand and she wrapped her tiny little fingers and his. All the girls about squealed from that action.

"See? Told you"

"Awww. She is so cute"

"I know. But so is her daddy" Phil said, trying to wink at me but failing. I laughed as he pouted slightly as our eyes meet. The group of girls all looked rather confused before it clicked with one of them.

"Wait…Are you two?…"

Phil grinned and walked over to me. He leaned over the counter, securely holding Alice in one arm while he used his other steady himself while he leaned towards me. He then quickly pressed his lips against mine in a short, sweet kiss before pulling away and turning back to the girls.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Oh my god yes! You should have told us!"

I smiled as I watched them all looking at us with huge grins spread across their faces. Phil laughed before taking his hand in mine and squeezing it tightly.

"Can I be bridesmaid at your wedding, pleaseeee?" one of the girls begged

"Who says we're getting married?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

"You have to! You two are so adorable together. And with little Alice living with you two"

"How did you know-"

"I see you guys walking home together all the time" she paused a moment before continuing "I'm not a stalker, I swear. I just always walk my dog at the time you guys walk home" she added with a small laugh.

"Alice should be your flower girl when she's older. That would be adorable" another girl from the group piped up.

"Calm down guys. It's not like we're getting married any time soon"

"Why not? you're old enough. Man, I wish I had a cute relationship like you guys. All I have is tumblr"

Phil laughed loudly, obviously disturbing Alice who was just drifting off to sleep. She began to grumble a little as if threatening to cry.

"Aw, Alice. Did daddy wake you with his big, loud laugh?" I only realized what I had said when I saw the look Phil gave me. He had a small smile on his face as our eyes met. "Daddy" he whispered softly, the smile only growing as he said the word. He then without warning caught my lips in such a breath taking kiss I seriously forgot how to function. My knees felt week as his lips moved against mine gently. His hand attentively ran through my hair and my breath hitched in my throat. It was the most perfect kiss we had ever shared. I was only brought out of my strange daze as I heard a chorus of 'awws' from the group of girls.

Phil really was just so perfect.


	6. Chapter 6

The little bell above the door chimed to signal someone had walked in. I looked up from the counter I was cleaning to see a middle aged man in a suit looking around as he walked in.

"Sorry, we're closed"

I said simply, going back to cleaning. It was the end of the day and id been left alone to do the last cleaning and to lock up. The man stood there in the middle of the shop floor just staring at me.

"David? Is that you"

I looked up, confused to why this guy was calling me David. He must have me confused with someone else. Yeah, that'll be it. I mean, it's not like there's anything sinister about calling someone the wrong name. I had no reason to be scared or nervous.

"It's me, Mitch. Do you remember me?"  
"Oh, no. I'm not David, sorry"

"You're not?"

I gave the man an apologetic smile, placing the cloth in my hand down. "No, sorry"

"It's fine…" he trailed off, squinting his eyes to see the name badge attached to my shirt.

"Dan. My name's Dan"

"Oh, I see. I know a Daniel as well. Well anyway, I'll get out of your way. It was nice to meet you"

"Yeah, bye"

I sighed softly before giving the counter one last rub. "That'll do" I mumbled to myself, reaching my hands above my head and stretching. I gave everything a last cheek over before locking up and making my way to Phil's apartment. He had Alice for my shift today. I had to admit, I missed her. I smiled softly to myself as I neared the building. I always got this lovely warm feeling when I got to see Phil after a long day of work. Just the way he smiled at me melted my heart in an instant. His cuddles and kisses could always make any day better.

"Oh Alice, I think I can hear daddy"

I heard Phil say in his silly little voice as I opened the front door. I couldn't help but let a small laugh escape my lips. He was just so great with her. We'd both kind of agreed that even though I wasn't Alice's dad we would just save the confusion and call me daddy. Phil got called a Varity of names by me most of the time, normally along the lines of daddy and dad. I mean, he was exactly like a father to Alice. I think she may have even liked him more than me.

"I was right. Look, there he is" Phil grinned as I walked into the lounge. Phil was sitting with Alice in his arms. She had her little teddy comforter clasped his her tiny hand. A bottle of milk lay beside her, half empty. Phil moved the changing bag and a few other bits and pieces off the couch so I could sit down.

I flopped down beside him, leaning against his arm while I looked at Alice. Her brown eyes were shinning brightly as she moved her arm, keeping a tight hold onto her little bear comforter. A smile covered her face she noticed me watching her. She little smiles were what I lived for. She was just so adorable.

"She's getting bigger" Phil said, wrapping his arm around me and letting me snuggle into his side. I shuffled closer, draping an arm around Alice"

"Babies do kinda grow you know"

Phil laughed softly, a small smile tugging at his lips as our gazes met. "I know, I'm just saying"

"She's fourteen weeks now"

He looked confused. He looked upwards as he obviously tried to work out how many months that was.

"Three months. She's three month now"

"Really? Already? Wow"

"I know. It's kinda crazy isn't it"

"Yeah" he slowly leaned down then gently pressed his lips against mine. "I didn't think id ever meet someone I love through helping them look after a kid"

"Same…wait"

"What?"

I bit my lip softly before looking into his eyes again "You love me?"

"Of course I do. I love you and Alice a lot. More than a lot"

"Really?"

"Really really"

************************************************** *******************

There were two things that struck me as strange. One, where was everyone? Normally I saw loads of people making their way to work at this time. And two, there was a large crowd of people in front of Starbucks. I don't just mean big, I mean absolutely huge. Phil was walking me to work today with Alice. We had planned out that Phil would take her just for a little walk then met me after work so we could go shopping together.

As we got closer I realized the crowd were all trying to shout over the noise to talk to the men who were there. My heart sunk as I realized the men were actually police.

Shit.

"What's going on?" one of the usual girls who comes in to see Alice shouted to one of the men. To my horror the man who came into the shop yesterday turned around to answer her question.

"That sicko who tried to kill his little sister and kidnapped her works here"

The girl looked confused, obviously trying to think of anyone who was capable of what this man was describing.

"No one mean like that works here. I come here everyday"

"Believe me he does. I came in last night under cover to see that bastard just innocently cleaning the counter like he'd done nothing wrong. What a sick bastard he is pretending to be so innocent after everything he's done"

I just stared at this guy, wondering how the hell he could make up this stuff. Id done nothing wrong at all. Id saved her. I didn't try to kill her.

"Dan, come one. Let's get out of here"

I nodded quickly, clutching at his hand tightly as he lead me away from the scene quickly. He started straight ahead, obviously only thinking of getting us home safely.

We soon arrived back at the apartment. I held Alice in her carrier as Phil walked into the lounge ahead of me and began to looking around. "What did he mean?"

"What?"

"Is it true, did you try to?…"

"No! of course not. What the hell Phil"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair "I'm sorry, I just. I don't know what to do. I need to keep you and Alice safe"

"I know…what are we going to do?"

"We need to get out of here. Those girls know where we live. If they tell, we're screwed" he bit his lips before looking at me "Grab everything you can of Alice's. I'll take care of everything else"

"But-"

"We need to go as soon as we can"

"But to where?"

"I don't know, anywhere. Just, go. Hurry up"

I wanted to try tell him this wasn't a good idea but I really couldn't think of anything better to say. I kept my mouth shut and nodded. I quickly raced to Alice's room and gathered everything I could, just shoving everything into bags.

Phil came into the room with several bags in his hands. "Come on, we need to go. I've got food and clothes. Hurry up" I nodded, stuffing the last few items I needed into bags. I grabbed Alice, who was still in her carrier, on the way out the door then locked it.

Within about literally about two minutes we had everything in the car and were driving away. I had no idea what the hell we were doing. Where were we even going to go?

This was really, really bad.


	7. Chapter 7

"We'll be fine you know"

"Will we?"

"Yeah…I lived on the streets like this before we came to your place"

"How could you do this? It's freezing out here"

"Yeah…I know"

Phil sighed heavily as he tightly wrapped an arm around me. It had been a week since we had had to leave. I was sort of used to the whole living on the streets thing but it was so obvious Phil wasn't. He was constantly worried something would happen. It was gradually turning from a decent summer to an cold autumn. Which of course meant much colder weather. We managed to stay warm enough to sleep if we all huddled together. Phil would wrap his arms around me tightly in an attempt to keep myself and Alice warm. We had one blanket that we draped over us all that helped a little bit.

The worst bit about this is I knew the worse bit was yet to come. It would be winter soon and a lot of things could happen then. I just wanted to go back to Phil's flat and continue our little happy family thing we had going on.

We couldn't though.

When we were passing an electrical store the other day they had the news on the TV in the window. I stopped for a moment, biting my lip hard as they showed pictures of Phil's apartment building announcing they had found where we had been living.

Luckily we'd covered our tracks pretty well. Staying low, living in an alleyway. Even swapping the registration plate on the car. Both Phil and I had withdrawn all money we could then moved over another two towns so they couldn't track us.

There were two things which scared me about living like this. The first being that something could happen to us. I mean, we could get caught at any time. I would be in trouble, that I could accept but I didn't want Phil to get into this. He was my second worry, Phil. I wondered how long he could do this. Sticking by us even though we were homeless and running from the law. He's a good guy. A good guy who would never do this sort of thing. I don't know if maybe I just meant a lot to him or…I don't know. It scared me none the less. He was all I had to keep me sane. Without him I don't know what I would do.

The sound of Alice beginning to whine in my arms brought me out of my thoughts. I gently rocked her, closing my eyes as I leaned into Phil's chest. I was completely exhausted. As much as I was worried about Phil, I should have been worried about myself. I hadn't slept properly in days. Sometimes I just looked at Phil and Alice and wondered if giving up was the best way forward. Maybe I could go home and let them have her. They'd probably kill me as soon as I set foot through that door though. As much as I was just sick and tired of everything I didn't want to die. I just wanted…I don't know. I wanted to be with Phil, and Alice and have a lovely little family. Just kid myself on that everything would actually be okay. That my life wasn't falling apart at the seems.

"Hey, Alice. Shhh. Please don't cry" hushed Phil as he gently stroked her cheek. Alice completely ignored him and shrieked loudly. I quickly cuddled her to my chest and stroked the back of her head while humming softly. Her cries softened slightly, becoming small whimpers.

"I think there's something wrong with her Dan…" Phil said quietly as Alice's cries came to a stop completely.

"No. She's a baby. Babies are supposed to cry"

"But-"

"She's fine"

He sighed before nodding and wrapping his arms around me once again. You'd think I would have been feeling bad that we just had a sort of argument. But no. that wasn't what I was worried about at all. I knew there was definitely something wrong with her. Maybe it was only a little cold though. She was crying more than usual but that could have been because of the temperature difference from inside to outside. I just hoped, wished, it was something simple like that.

************************************************** *******************

I was woken two nights later by Alice whimpering and squirming around in my arms. I just kept my eyes closed, used to this by now. Id just hum a little tune and stroke her head or rub her back and she'd go back to sleep. I gently ran a finger across her smooth forehead as I usually would.

That's when I opened my eyes. I looked down to see her little face was bright red. Her forehead was absolutely boiling. That's when the panic set in. there was definitely something wrong with her. She was burning up. Shit. What the hell was I even supposed to do? I nudged Phil, hoping it would wake him up enough to at least ask him for any ideas of what to do.

"Phil" I half whispered as I nudged him again.

He groaned before opening his eyes and blinking a few times. "What is it?" he groaned sleepily, resting his head on my shoulder and closing his eyes again.

"It's Alice…I…I don't know what to do…" I said softly, my voice quivering as I tried to swallow back the sobs that I knew were going to escape. He opened his eyes almost instantly and sat up slightly, casting his gaze over Alice before looking up at me.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I…I don't know"

"Well, how do you know something's wrong then?"

The tears began to drip down my cheeks as I looked into his eyes.

"She has a fever and I…I don't know" I sniffed softly "I'm scared Phil"

Phil nodded and placed a hand on her forehead then shot me a worried look.

"You're right, she does. We need to do something"

"I know…but what?"

"Hospital. We need to take her"

I just stared at him, hoping he'd realize that wasn't an option and suggest something else. When he just looked back at me with that serious expression I realized he didn't have another suggestion.

"But we can't. I mean- we'll get caught"

"What other choice to we have Dan? We can't just do nothing"

"But we-"

"But nothing. We have to take her"

"We can't!" I shouted, earning more whimpers from Alice.

"Dan. We need to" Phil said sternly.

"They'll split us up. We'll get in trouble!"

"This is for her, not us. For gods sake stop being so selfish and think about someone else for once. She could die Dan!"

I didn't have a reply to that one. I didn't know what to do. If I didn't take her she could die. But if I did, I would get in so much trouble. What the hell was I supposed to choose? I took a deep breath before nervously meeting his gaze again.

"Okay…let's go"

He gathered up our bags without saying a word to me and just walked away. I followed behind him, clutching Alice in my arms tightly as we made our way to the car.

Tonight couldn't get any worse than this.


	8. Chapter 8

Alice had been seen to pretty much as soon as we arrived. They hadn't even asked any questions or anything. We were told to wait until further notice. That was the worst bit. Sitting here beside Phil just staring at my hands. I tried to think of anything to keep the tears back.

That was our first proper fight I guess. I can't say I enjoyed it too much. He hadn't talked to me or even looked at me since. We both just sat in complete silence both obviously thinking desperately about what to do with his situation.

Than he spoke.

"Dan…"

I looked up, my eyes meeting with his. A small frown was worn on his face as he looked into my eyes.

"Look…I'm sorry"

I bit my lip before averting my eyes back to my hands.

"Dan, come on. Don't be like this"

"How can I not be like this? She could be dying in there"

"I know, just…"

"What, Phil? What could you possibly have to say?"

He sighed softly before wrapping an arm around my shoulders tightly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted…or said what I said. I'm sorry"

I could never stay mad at him. Even if I tried, I just can't. I made a small noise to show I understood then leaned into him slightly. I felt him press a kiss against my head as his lips curled into a small smile.

A nurse appeared in front of us at that moment, giving us a strange look. "She's fine. It's usual for babies her age to have fevers frequently. So yeah, she's completely fine"

"She is?" Phil asked, the relief evident in his voice.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. Now, we just need you to fill in a few details about yourselves and her"

Fuck.

Phil gave her his best smile and took the clipboard out of her extended hand politely. "Of course, we'll come find you after this is filled in"

She gave us a small nod, still eying us up suspiciously before walking away.

"What are we supposed to-"

"Relax, I have this covered" He said softly as he retrieved his arm from around me and began to write. I watched him careful as he began write out the details. He had such cute hand writing. Yeah, writing can be cute now apparently. I must have went off in a little day dream because the next thing I knew Phil was holding up the clipboard in front of me with a smile spread across his face.

"Finished"

I took it of him, scanning over the words on the page. "Alice Kendall?"

"Yeah. It's a friends surname"

"And Phil Kendall? Marrying yourself of to this friend then?"

He laughed softly, pressing a quick kiss to my lips "Nah, he's way too gay with his best friend. I couldn't have him even if I wanted"

We were both grinning at each other like idiots when the nurse walked back to us. "Done?"

"Yeah, here you go" Phil sad as he handed the form back to her with a polite smile. She scanned over the contents of the page then looked back up at us. "Her name's Alice?"

"Yeah…" I answered smoothly, trying to cover up how nervous I actually was.

"That's a cute name. suits her"

"Um…thanks?"

She attached the pen to the clipboard again before turning on her heel to walk away. She stopped after taking a step and turned back to us.

"You know you look just like that kid the police are after. Obviously it isn't you though. I mean, he's only seventeen and you're no way seventeen. You look just like him but older. It's a little creepy"

My heart about stopped as I heard her words. What the hell was that even supposed to mean?

"Haha, yeah. Sorry about him. He's really, really tired. It's been a rough few nights with Alice"

"It's fine. I have a little one of my own at home. I know what it's like" she said with a smile before actually walking away this time.

************************************************** *******************

About an hour later we got the go ahead that we could take Alice home. The first thing I did was give her a huge hug. Phil had a great smile spread across his face as he watched us.

"Whoa, Dan, calm down. Don't smother her" he said with a laugh. I grinned back at him still holding Alice close to my chest.

"Sorry, I'm just happy she's okay"

He walked over to us and slipped an arm around my waist. "I am too. I don't know what id do if she wasn't"

"Yeah…sane" I sighed "Will we be okay?"

"What? Of course we will. We can get through this"

"No…I mean, like" another sigh "Can _we_ still do this? I don't want to force you into any of this"

A confused look crossed his face as he gazed at me. "What-"

"Don't leave me, please. I need you. I need you more than anything else in the world" a small sob escaped my lips as several tears dripped down my face "Please, Phil"

"…Dan. Oh, Dan. I won't, you know I won't. I love you and Alice more than anything else"

"But-"

"But nothing, I'll stick with you through this. I'm sorry if I made you think I wouldn't. this is just a lot to give up and just…I should have known it was going to he harder than I originally thought. I'm sorry"

A smile tugged at my lips as I listened to him. Maybe everything wasn't so bad. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe, just maybe.

We could have our happy ever after.

He smiled as he picked up our bags in one hand then held out his other hand to me. "Come on, let's get going"

I took his hand happily, smiling as he entwined our fingers. We made our way to the exit, not being able to wipe the smiles from our faces.

This was it.

Id finally found true happiness.

"Put you hands in the air where I can see them. We have you surrounded!"

…of course I hadn't.


	9. Chapter 9

"Thank you so much officer. We're just so glad you found them"

"It's no problem ma'am, you do know that kidnap is a very serious thing, are you sure you want to drop the charges?"

"Of course, we just wanted to find them. We don't want to charge our little boy"

"But, ma'am, he needs to be punished somehow-"

"We don't believe in punishment for him. You see-" she leaned in and lowered her voice "He has a few mental problems. He probably thought we were gonna do something bad to his sister"

"You lying bitch!"

Mum moved her hands from my shoulders to wrap around my chest. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. He hasn't had his meds"

The officer nodded, giving us one last look before speaking again. "Well okay, I hope him and the girl will be okay from now on. Bye" he said with a small wave, making his way over to his car. Mum waved, smiling innocently as he drove away. As soon as he was out of sight she moved her arms to my neck and pressed hard.

"Do you have any idea how much shit you caused!?" she growled, dragging me backwards into the house. Once inside she closed the door then shoved me onto the floor roughly. "Just you wait until dad gets home" She threatened, pushing me again. I just lay there, too scared to do anything else. I could get a few bruises from her but when dad got home…

Id probably be dead by tonight.

I knew this would happen eventually. I really don't even know why I tried. They were always going to find me. I should have known that. I was in some serious shit now. I thought I had a slight chance of getting away with it. But I always knew deep down they'd find me.

Luckily, when we'd been caught Phil did the smart thing and faked this whole emotional sort of break down thing and told them I had kidnapped him. Used him to buy everything I needed and held him hostage in his own home. Amazingly they believed it. He threw me a sad look before being lead away from me. That was a few days ago. I had been in the cells at the station for the last dew days. Of course mum and dad were away on 'business' when id been caught. Mum came back as soon as she could and here we are really.

"You disgust me, you know that?" she kicked me hard. I closed my eyes, trying to hold back the tears. If I cried id just be punished even more. They didn't believe in punishing me huh? Yeah, what a lie that was. "I should just kill you just now. You caused so much shit. We lost an ally because of you. She was going to be sold, but no, you just had to fucking run away with her"

"That's exactly why"

"Excuse me? Are you actually talking back to me? What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"I could ask you the same question you heartless bitch!"

She grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and dragged me to my feet. "You will not talk back to me. Do you understand. I can kill you" a sick smirk tugged at her lips as she drew closer until her face was inches away from mine "Or I could kill her? Your precious little, what was she called?"

"You wouldn't dare…"

"Oh, I would" she replied smugly.

"She's your daughter! What kind of sick animal are you!?"

She laughed, shoving me back and making me hit my head on the wall behind me. "I don't care about her. I didn't want her. We just thought it would be funny to watch her grow up with them. You know, that gang that killed their son a few months ago"

"Fuck you" I growled, keeping my eyes glued on the floor. My head thumped as I slid down the wall. Maybe she would be the one to kill me. I was really going to die wasn't I?

"Oh, Daniel. Did you really think we'd let you get away with this? Stealing our precious little, whatever the fuck she's called"

"Alice! Her name is fucking Alice!"

"Whatever" she sneered, grabbing my arm and harshly pulling me to my feet. "I could just kill him instead you know"

"What?"

"That guy. Was he your boyfriend?" I didn't answer. I didn't want to. "He is isn't he? You little faggot. I can't believe this!" I flinched as he raised her hand. She looked thoughtful before smirking once again. "Yeah, we should kill him and little Alice. You'll have no one. Then you can actually make us think decently of you by settling down with some nice girl and giving us kids to sell on"

"Fuck you bitch"

She growled softly before dragging me up the stairs and shoving me in the first room she saw. I heard the door lock as I lay on the floor just letting my tears flow freely now. She couldn't punish me if she couldn't see it. "You'll fucking stay in there until dad gets home. Right faggot?" I bit my lip, attempting to steady my voice before replying "Right…mum"

I heard her laugh nastily before stalking off. It was only when I lifted my head I realized what room I was in.

I was in Alice's room.

I slowly sat up, looking around at the white walls and grubby carpet. They really hadn't cared had they? They didn't even want to keep her. I hated them. I hated them both so much.

A small noise distracted me from my thoughts "Alice?" I asked softly, standing up on shaking legs. I slowly made my way over to her crib, hissing in pain with every step. Everything hurt. I couldn't even see properly, thanks to the tears and the fact I was probably freaking brain damaged now. There she was, lying in the white crib looking as unhappy as I felt. She looked up at me and began to whine more. I carefully leaned down and picked her up. She quietened down slightly but still made little noises of complaint.

"It's okay baby, it's okay. I've got you" I whispered, sitting down on the floor with her pressed against my chest tightly. "What are we gonna do Alice? I just… I don't know what to do anymore. I need Phil, you probably need him too. I just. I'm sorry I let you down…"

I heard heavy footsteps approaching the room. Dad was home. This was it. The door opened slowly to reveal dad standing there looking furious "You!" he shouted storming his way over to me. He stopped, noticing for the first time that Alice was in my arms. "It's a woman's job to hold children son. Not a mans. Are you gonna tell me your some kind of fag or something"

I held Alice tighter, trying to stay as silent as I could. I knew even breathing could piss him off when we was like this. "You're a fucking fag aren't you!? Don't lie to me boy. I can see right through you!"

I didn't know what else to do. So I made the mistake I knew I shouldn't have done. I nodded. He pulled me to my feet then roughly grabbed Alice out of my arms. She instantly began to shriek as he held her roughly with one hand.

"NO, Stop it! You're hurting her. Put her down!"

"Why, why shouldn't I just kill her now" he smirked, moving his hand to around her tiny neck.

"NO. Don't hurt her! PLEASE! I'll do anything, please don't do it!"

He grinned, shoving her down into her crib harshly. "Anything eh? Well boy, you know what you can do"

"…What?" I asked softly as he pulled me towards him and ran a hand down my torso. "You know what" he growled into my ear as his hand slithered further down.

"No, please. Anything but that-"

"Do you want her to die!?"

"No…"

"Then do what you're told, slut" he groaned, wriggling his hand into my pants.

"Of course…sir"


	10. Chapter 10

"That'll teach you"

I just stared at the wall in front of me as I heard him zip up his jeans. He gave me a quick kick to the back before laughing nastily and leaving the room. The tears began to drip off my face as I heard the door lock once again.

This was one of the reasons I had run away. He'd been doing…that, since I was about fifteen. I think mum knew but she never cared. No one ever did. So here I was once again. Just lying on the floor, alone. Crying as usual. I'm so stupid. So fucking useless.

I can't do anything right.

I sobbed softly to myself as I attempted to sit up. Everything hurt, again. He didn't just rape me, he bet me up. New bruises to add to the collection I guess. It was bad enough having mum beat me up but dad as well. I guess I did deserve it though. It was only when I managed to take a small breath that I remembered I wasn't the most important person in the room just now.

"Alice…" I mumbled softly, staying in my position on the floor. I would move if I could, but I really couldn't. several more tears dripped down my cheeks as I tried to silence my sobs. They really would come back in here for round two if they heard me crying. I hate them. I hate them so fucking much.

************************************************** *******************

After about an hour of crying no more tears would spill. I was just left to pant and retch. I couldn't breath, the only thing I could do was attempt to keep myself alive. Try to stay calm. Id done it before. Id be fine…maybe. They had never beaten me this badly before. I really was certain I was going to die in that room.

The thing that worried me most wasn't if I was going to live or not. If I died, no one would care. Maybe, just maybe Phil would. That is if he ever found out. I doubt mum and dad would exactly be bragging to the news they'd killed their son. But no, I wasn't worried about me. It was Alice I was worried about. Id been sitting here for an hour and she hadn't made a single noise. I was absolutely terrified id look into her crib and see the blooded remains of her body.

I had to see her.

I fresh wave of sobs erupted from me as I tried to stand up. He had done something to my wrist, I couldn't put any weight on it. I somehow managed to get to feet shakily and make my way over to her crib. A wave of relief washed over me when I saw there was in fact no blood. She was fine. Or maybe she wasn't. I didn't know really. The only thing I could tell was that she was still breathing. I bit my lip harshly as I watched her tiny chest rise and fall.

I leaned over slowly, gently picking her up into my arms. As soon as I touched her she started to scream. It was so obvious he'd traumatized her. Who the fuck throws a little baby around like that? I really, really hate him.

"Shh. Alice. It's okay. It's me, it's Dan. You're okay now"

She whimpered softly, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

We couldn't stay here.

What about if I really did die? They would move onto her. Beat her, rape her. Fuck, they'd do everything they could to make her life hell. I couldn't let them. I wouldn't.

I needed to get us out of here.

But how?

************************************************** *******************

The routine went on like this. Both Alice and I being locked in her room all day. Dad would come in everyday and do something that served as punishment. He'd hit me then threaten to hit Alice then hit me some more. Just the usual. He'd also do…those, things to me. He's push me face down onto the floor and smirk as I screamed. He'd tell me he was going to do this to Alice one day. That's he'd kill me and then I wouldn't be able to protect her. Mum would come in after that and shove some food at me and bottle for Alice. She'd tell me 'you like her more than we do. You feed her, faggot'. I guess she really was like my daughter now. I mean, I was the only one pretty much keeping her alive. The only good thing about that room was it had a balcony. They either didn't think id be able to move enough to actually open the doors or they just didn't lock them because this room was on the second floor.

Id sit outside with Alice wrapped up in a blanket in my arms. Of course, I only did this at night. There was something about just staring up at the stars that calmed me down after their daily torments. It was hard enough with them beating me black and blue everyday. But with having to basically raise Alice as well, it really took it out of me.

I saw the stars as my own little escape. Just being able to stare up at those beautiful little twinkling lights in the sky. There was one bad thing about the stars though. They brought back memories. I memories I knew I had to forget. Id never see him again, thinking of him only made it harder.

Phil and I would often sit outside at night at look up at the stars together. Just laying in each others arms and looking up at the breath taking sight. I really was never going to see him again was I? it hurt like hell. Hurt like hell to know I might have actually been happy with him but my stupid parents had to ruin everything. And for what? So they could have their little toy back?

I closed my eyes, sighing softly too myself as I held Alice tighter in my arms. She began to squirm in my arms, whimpering quietly. Looks like id woken her up.

"Oh, Alice. I'm sorry. I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to wake you up"

She quietened down a bit as she looked up at me. He big brown eyes gazing at me innocently.

"If only you knew Alice. If only you knew what dad was doing to me. What he'll do to you…I just" tears began to drip down my face. Crying seemed to be a daily occurrence now. "Just…fuck. What am I supposed to do Alice?"

"You could run away with me?"

I couldn't even hold back a gasp as I heard his voice. My eyes snapped from Alice to where Phil stood in the garden.

"Phil? What the hell are you doing here!?" I rushed out as I stumbled over to the balcony's edge holding Alice close to my chest.

"Oh, fuck. Dan, are you okay? What did they do to you?"

It took me a moment to get over the fact that Phil had actually just sworn. His words suddenly made sense to me as I remembered both my arms and face were bruised pretty badly. I'm pretty sure there was still some dried blood by my nose.

"It's…it's nothing" I bit my lip, glancing from Alice to Phil and back. "You can't be here"

"And why not. I came to save you from them. They showed your house on the news the other day and amazingly I actually knew where this place was" he paused for a moment "…Why are they saying all these lies about you? They said you were mentally unstable"

"I'm not. Believe me I am not mentalally unstable. If anyone is it's my fucking parents"

"Dan…"

"No…get out of here. They'll see you…they'll kill you. Please, just go"

"No way" he stepped forward, a determined look in his eyes "I am not leaving you here. I'm not leaving without you and Alice"

"How the hell am I supposed to get down, fly?"

He looked around the garden, his eyes wide as he searched through the darkness around him for something to help. "Dan. Your parents are idiots. Look, there's a ladder here"

"Okay…but how am I supposed to get down with Alice?"

"You can do it, I know you can" he said, grabbing the ladder and firmly placing it against the wall of the balcony. "Just hold her tightly and climb, I'll hold it so you won't fall"

I reluctantly nodded and placed one foot on the ladder. It shook, making me cling to the metal desperately. True to his word, Phil held it as still as he could, looking up at me as if she was ready to catch me if I really did fall.

As soon as my feet touched the ground Phil's arms were around me tightly. "I'm so sorry" he mumbled, placing several small kisses over my face then pressing a single small kiss to Alice's forehead.

"Come on, let's go"


	11. Chapter 11

We had made it back safely to Phil's apartment that night. As soon as we got in Phil began fussing over my injuries. I just told him I was fine. I was anything but fine. There was only so much beating and him doing…that, that I could take. We spent that night cuddled up on the couch. No one saying anything. There was a nice comfortable silence in the air around us.

Phil had tried for a while to get me to talk but I refused. It was only when he had fallen asleep I let the tears fall. they fell silently as my mind raced. Everything was wrong. Even though id managed to escape this was just the same situation all over again. I didn't want Phil to die. I couldn't deal with losing him again.

I just couldn't do it.

************************************************** *******************

"Dan"

I heard his voice. I heard him call me name, yet I didn't respond. I don't know why either. This was Phil here, he was fine. I was fine. No one was going to hurt me. But I couldn't help but flinch as I heard my name being spoken.

"Dan…are you okay?"

I turned to him then, trying to give him my best fake smile. I was okay. I was completely fine. There was nothing wrong with me at all.

"Yeah?" I answered in a small voice as our eyes locked.

He looked at me for a moment before sighing softly and making his way over to me. It was only then that I noticed I was sitting on the floor of Alice's room. He sat down beside me, a small smile gracing is lips as he looked to Alice.

"She looks really cute when she's asleep"

"Yeah…I guess she does"

He turned to look at me again, our eyes locking once again. He bit his lip lightly before opening his mouth as if he was about to speak. He averted his eyes for a second before closing his mouth again.

"Look…Dan, you know you can talk to me"

It was my turn to look away now. Don't get me wrong, I loved talking to Phil, he made me feel so special. He made me feel like my life actually meant something. But I knew what he meant by that. He wanted to talk about, that… I didn't, I couldn't. whoever said it's better if you talk about these things is lying.

"I…I know"

"Dan-"

"No. I don't need your sympathy"

An expression I couldn't place took over his features. If I didn't know better id say he looked…hurt.

"I want to help you Dan"

"You can't"

He grabbed my shoulders, looking into my eyes intently. It was as if he was looking for something. Maybe we wanted to see that little spark. That little spark that made me look alive. I didn't have it anymore. My eyes looked dead, like how I really felt.

I felt dead inside. I just wanted to give up. Die. Wanted to leave it all behind. The only reason id held on for so long is for Alice. She was the only thing that kept me from just letting them beat me to death. Sure now I had Phil back I cared for him. But maybe caring made me more weak. I cared so much for him and Alice that that was all I ever thought about. All I could see when I closed my eyes were their corpses lying there motionless with, him, just standing there smirking.

"Dan, please, listen to me" he flashed me a small smile "Everything is going to be fine from now on. You're safe here. Alice is safe. We can be happy together. Don't you want that?"

"I…I do, but…" I replied, keeping my eyes glued on the ground. I couldn't just tell him everything. No, I couldn't.

He let a frustrated sigh escape his lips as he tried to look into my eyes again. "I want to help you. I know how much they hurt you-"

"You have no fucking idea" I growled before I even processed what I was saying. We both wore matching looks of surprise as our eyes met. I had no idea why I had just said that.

"You're right…" he sighed "I don't know what they did to you. That's why I want to know. Please, just talk to me"

"Phil…you have yo understand…"

"I know, it's hard. I know Dan"

Tears clouded my vision as I bit my lip "I would but I…"

He wrapped his arms around me, obviously sensing how I was feeling. He seemed to be good at that. He always seemed to know when I needed comforting. I honestly hated having anyone's pity. But with Phil, I kind of didn't mind. He treated me just how I wanted to be treated.

He did it perfectly.

"We're going to get through this you know"

"Yeah…" I mumbled, even though I didn't believe that. Even if we did get through this, we would never, ever be safe.

He pulled away, smiling softly as he looked into my eyes. It was like the whole atmosphere had changed because of that amazing smile.

"Hey, I've got an idea" he announced, his smile growing.

"What?"

"Lets go on a date. I don't mean a cliché dinner by candle light, but, yeah. I'll take you out for a nice night. That'll help you forget about this whole mess, won't it? Just a night to ourselves"

I thought about this for a moment. Honestly a night with just Phil with no worries sounded absolutely amazing.

"Okay, but…what about Alice? we can't just leave her here alone"

"I can cover that. Come on, please?" he asked childishly as he took hold of my hands in his and gave me a look that made him look absolutely adorable.

"Fine, okay, yes"

He grinned, pressing his lips against mine excitedly "Thank you. I love you"

His outburst really did take me by surprise. He hadn't said he loved me before. It made me feel sort of…happy. Like, really, really happy. He loved me.

Someone actually cared.

"I…love you too"


	12. Chapter 12

"Thanks for doing this Chris, I owe you one"

"It's no problem. I've been wanting to meet this little one since you first told me about her"

So this was Chris huh?

He seemed like a nice enough guy. He smiled softly at Alice as she was held securely in Phil's arms. I could tell Phil was as reluctant to leave her as I was. But he trusted this Chris guy. So I guess I had to trust him too.

"So I'll just see you guys later" he smiled as he met my gaze "Don't worry, she'll be okay with me"

Before I had time to even form an answer I felt Phil take my hand in his. He squeezed my hand lightly before shooting me a small smile.

"Come on, lets go"

I looked from Phil to Alice, who was now lying on the couch, squirming around as usual as her bright eyes looked up at me. I looked back to Phil's confident smile then gave Alice a little wave "Bye Alice, daddy will be back later" Phil's smile widened before he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her head. "Bye bye Alice"

I didn't speak again until we were sitting in the car after that. I watched Phil pushing the keys into the ignition and starting in the engine before reality dawned on me. Where we really leaving Alice alone? This would be the first time I have never been away from her really. To say I was worried was an understatement.

"Do you…do you think she'll be okay?" I asked nervously, my gaze meeting his.

"She'll be fine, Dan. Chris is a good guy, he wouldn't do anything"

"I know just…what if something happens?"

He took my hands in his smiling softly as he looked into my eyes "Just relax, okay? She'll be fine" he leaned over and pressed a small kiss to my lips before pushing me back in my seat lightly.

"Just sit back and relax. I have the perfect night planned out for us"

************************************************** *******************

If I'm being honest, when Phil said he had the perfect night planned out I didn't believe him. I thought he'd take me on one of those really clichéd dates to like the cinema or something but I can honestly say I was really surprised.

Because of the time of year by the time we left it was already pretty much pitch black. As we drove, Phil told me to close my eyes. Apparently it was a surprise wherever he was taking me.

I did as I was told, trying to keep my thoughts positive. I didn't want to admit to myself just how bad my thoughts were getting. Every time I let my mind drift I would get these really horrible images of all the different ways they could kill Phil. It was killing my slowly. My mind torturing me slowly until it drove me insane. The nightmares followed me into my sleep. Id wake up and go cheek on Phil and Alice just to find that everything was normal. I was just over thinking everything. That's all it was. Nothing was going to change.

Everything would be okay.

I was broken out of my thoughts as I felt the car slow down and come to a stop.

"We're here, you can open your eyes"

I moved my hands away from my face and let my eyes open slowly. When I saw the sight in front of me a couldn't help but let a little gasp escape my lips.

There in front of me was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

We were sitting in a car park where I could see the beach and sea. I watched in amazement as the sea shone almost magically as the moonlight hit it's surface.

"Do you just wanna sit here all night? Come on, lets go"

I nodded slowly, not being able to tear my eyes away from the beautiful scene in front of me. I don't think I can really describe how amazing it looked. It honestly took my breath away. We both climbed out the car, Phil grabbing two towels and then taking my hand in his.

"Do you wanna sit on the beach? I have towels for sitting on" Phil asked softly as he held up the towels in his hand.

"Yeah…id like that" I answered shyly. Suddenly looking at Phil became the hardest thing in the world. I just couldn't believe he'd put so much effort into to organizing this.

We found a nice little spot near the water but far enough away that we didn't get attacked by any waves. We just sat there for a moment, looking towards the shining sea and sparkling stars. There was comfortable silence that filled the air. No one spoke. The only sound that could be heard was the gently waves bumping against the sand.

We stayed in the silence for a good few minutes before I felt a pair of arms wrap around me tightly. I looked up to see Phil's eyes staring at me intently as he tightened his grip around me. I turned in his arms slightly, loosely wrapping my arms around his neck as my eyes stayed glued to his. His eyes looked so amazing right now. Id never stopped to appreciate just how beautiful Phil was until this moment. His blue eyes shone brightly in the moonlight as a small smile tugged at his perfect pink lips.

"You look beautiful Dan"

His comment caught be off guard, my cheeks turning red as I heard his words. He was the one who looks absolutely amazing.

"So do you. You look amazing" I admitted shyly, looking away for a moment before looking back into his eyes "I really love you"

"I know" he smiled "I really love you too"

I don't know what made me do my next action but I did it anyway. I picked up a hand full of sand and dumped in onto Phil's leg. He made a small yelp of surprise before looking confused. His expressing turned from confusion to this little smirk within seconds. Before I knew what was happening I also hand sand shoved onto my legs, or more importantly, onto my favourite skinny jeans.

"Hey!" I moaned, standing up and backing away from him slightly, stumbling and about falling in the wet sand I was now standing on. Phil grinned before standing up and making his way over to me "You started it!" he whined playfully.

I kicked my shoes off and ran into the water, grinning as I watched Phil do the same. He flashed me a grin before kicking a wave of water at me. Of course it just happened to go straight over my head splattering pretty much the whole of me in water. The smile was instantly wiped of his face as he saw just how much his 'little' splash had done.

"Dan, are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-"

While he was babbling on I quickly kicked my own little spray of water at him. As the water hit him he started at me in shook. "Payback" I grinned as I watched him back away quickly and send more water flying through the air towards me.

This really was the best date ever.

************************************************** *******************

As soon as we arrived at the front door I knew something was wrong. Phil and I both exchanged worried looks as we set eyes on the damaged wood of the apartment door.

"…Chris?…"

No reply.

We both walked into the hall, our eyes wandering around the walls and floor for evidence of any more damage. As I walked into the lounge my eyes widened. There was Chris sprawled out of the floor unconscious. The room was in a complete state. It looked like Chris had put up a good fight with whatever had happened.

"Chris, oh my god, Chris" Phil rambled as he knelt down beside his friend. Chris' eyes opened as if on cue. He looked, well, terrible.

"…Phil…I'm sorry…"

"For what? What happened?"

"Alice… they came for Alice. I tried to…I tried to fight them off…but"

"No…please don't tell me you let them take her!?" I wasn't even aware I had spoken until Chris gave me such a sympathetic look I thought he was about to burst into tears. "No no no no no"

"Dan, it's okay-" Phil tried to sooth as he made his way over to me.

"It's not fucking okay!" I shouted fiercely, tears dripping down my face.

"Fuck…"

Id lost her.


	13. Chapter 13

I knew exactly where they would be with her. I knew they took her to get to me. It's obvious they didn't give two shits about her.

They just wanted me.

At this point I was completely willing to give myself up to them. I hadn't slept since they'd taken her. I just lay there every night in Phil's arms while he slept peacefully. I couldn't sleep though. I had all the different plans rushing through my head. I had to get her back. I just had too.

Maybe I could rescue her and let Phil bring her up. I really didn't honestly care if they killed me now. Anything would be better than living with the guilt of knowing I failed her.

So here I was again, laying here wide wake for the fourth night now. I was completely exhausted but I couldn't shut my brain off long enough to sleep. I sighed heavily as I closed my eyes. As soon as I did the pictures came back into my mind. The horrible bloody pictures that were haunting me continually.

"Dan, go to sleep…" I heard Phil mumbled quietly from beside me as he tightened the grip he had of his arms wrapped around my waist. I sighed again, slightly softer this time as is snuggled into his chest. I looked up over his features, bringing a hand up to gently move some hair out of his face. His beautiful blue eyes opened then, staring deep into my brown ones.

"It'll be okay you know" he whispered, staring intently into my eyes now.

That phrase again. It was weird, id told him that and it made everything okay back then. But now. Now I just don't want to even try. I just want to keep Alice safe and away from those monsters.

"It won't Phil…it really won't"

"It will, I promise-"

"You promise?" I asked, my throat going tight with the feeling of tears wanting to make their escape. I narrowed my eyes at him as I felt anger now replacing that sadness. "You can't promise anything"

He didn't say anything. He just looked into my eyes with a startled expression before pulling me into a tight hug and holding me there. I don't know why but this only made me angrier. It was probably due to the sleep deprivation or maybe the fact that I didn't deserve him at all and that made me feel even worse.

"Get off me…" I mumbled, attempting to back out of his hold. He loosened his grip just enough so he could see my face once again

"Dan…please don't be like this. I want us to be happy"

"Happy? You think we can be happy? They have her Phil, they could of. I don't know. They could have done anything to her by now"

"I know, I know. But doing this to yourself isn't helping. Dan, just stop and look at yourself for a moment. You're killing yourself here"

Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke. That made my heart break even more.

"I know…I just…I don't want to let her go"

"Dan…talk to me. Please. Just tell me what's on your mind. You know I only want to help"

He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before capturing my lips in a sweet, perfect, short kiss. It may have only been short and sweet but the meaning behind it was incredible. I don't really know how to describe it. It was like in that moment I just felt everything he was feeling. The sadness of Alice being taken by them. The happiness of having me here with him. Everything he was feeling suddenly became clear and I finally understood.

Finally understood just how much he loved me. Just how much he was willing to lose to have me. I tried to kiss him back gently but he pulled away and looked into my eyes again. "Please tell me"

And because in that moment everything felt so perfect and I thought that maybe there was something still left to live for I did tell him everything.

************************************************** *******************

"Are you sure she'll be there?"

"Yeah. It's where they take all their hostages for exchange"

"…Exchange…Dan, what do you-"

"It doesn't matter. That's definitely the place"

He sighed as he leaned his head back against the couch. We were currently trying to plan a way to get Alice back. Obviously, we wanted to avoid them at all costs so trying to sneak in the back was probably going to be the easiest. We were sitting with Phil's laptop sitting on the coffee table while he leaned back against the couch tiredly. We'd spent the whole of the night before talking. Id told him everything. Everything from what dad did to me to the things I saw when I closed my eyes. The whole time he just sat and listened to me, giving me a light kiss or hug occasionally. I never wanted to tell him because I knew id seem like such a weak loser. I guess I was just really afraid he'd think I was really childish or something and leave me. But after I finished telling him everything he just held me tightly in his arms and told me he loved me over and over again.

"So…when do we go?"

He sat up as he spoke, a look in his eyes id never seen before. I had no idea what it was, maybe determination, happiness. Or maybe the only emotion I felt now.

Fear.

"Tonight. Take them by surprise. The sooner we get her the better"

"Yeah. I guess you're right" he paused for a moment, a thoughtful expression crossing his face as he look at me "…What are you gonna do if they see us?"

"I-" no, I couldn't tell him what I was thinking "We'll just run"

"Are you sure that'll work? I mean there might be a load of people there and what if-"

"We'll do it. She'll be safe"

"But-"

"Phil, we'll be fine, okay?"

He reluctantly nodded, biting his lip. I didn't like lying to him. I just didn't want to tell him the complete truth of what I was planning. If there were their stupid little slaves there then we'd be done for. But of course I don't want to tell Phil that.

I Just had pretend everything will be okay. It's easier that way.

That way he won't know I'm trading my life for hers.


	14. Chapter 14

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. This is the place"

"No, I mean. Are you sure I want to do this?"

"Yes"

"Dan-"

"Phil, I want to. I'm fine, okay?"

He nodded reluctantly before looking away from me and towards the door. That door right there was the one thing that stood between us and her. Us and them.

Me and him.

I stared at the door, trying to push the memories I had of this place to the back of my mind. This may have been where they came to exchange hostages but they also tortured people in this place. I mean it's the perfect place. Just an old abandoned hospital that no one had even looked at it in years.

"Where do we go?"

"In there"

He rolled his eyes, nudging me lightly with his elbow "I got that, but where? This place is huge"

It was a huge. I mean, hospitals need to be big with so many rooms I couldn't even count. She could be anywhere so we would need to look everywhere. I tried to consider all the possibilities of what we could do but I was fresh out of ideas. Okay, maybe I wasn't.

I just didn't want to tell Phil what I was thinking. He would obviously try to talk me out of it. That's why I wouldn't tell him. I needed to do this.

"I don't know…just enter around the back here like we planned" I answered eventually, meeting his gaze for a moment before looking back to the door. Him looking at that made me feel really uneasy. The look in his eyes they just…I made me feel so horrible. He was depending on me to know what to do. From that look I knew he would do anything to rescue her, to protect me. He looked so determined but so sacred.

"Okay…should we get going then?"

"Yeah, come on"

I took a step towards the door before I felt an hand on my arm. I looked back to the person the hand belonged to and raised at eyebrow at him. Phil tightened his grip around my arm, looking down at the ground nervously. He then looked up and into my eyes.

"In case anything happens in there…I really love you Dan"

His words caught me completely off guard. I opened my mouth and sucked in a big breath before turning around to face him fully. We gazed at each other for a moment before I pressed my lips against his. He gently moved his hand to cup my cheeks as he kissed me back.

"I love you too, so much" I whispered, leaning my forehead against his as my cheeks turns a light shade of red.

"Good, I'm glad" he answered as he flashed me a grin.

He looked so happy like this. I almost didn't want to go in there. This could much our relationship up forever. What if…what if he got killed? Id be all alone again. I really, really didn't want that.

"I…I'm really sorry about this" I said softly, my eyes meeting his again "For all of this"

He wrapped his arms around me tightly. He didn't even pause to think about what to say. Maybe he was going with the whole actions speak louder than words. He buried his head into my shoulder before squeezing me tightly.

"I don't blame you for any of this. You know I love you and Alice more than anything else in the entire world"

He pulled away from me and took my hand in his. He didn't look up at him after that. Sure he loved me but…love wasn't a lot of good when you were dead.

No.

Everything would we fine.

We entered the building slowly, making sure to try make as least noise as possible. The white walls and dull white tiled floors made me feel sick. Everything about this place make my stomach churn. I remembered wandering down these halls all on my own as a child. There were always people in these rooms. I didn't understand back then that those people were dying. They would be tortured until they couldn't move then left in a room to die from their injuries or starvation.

"Dan? Are you okay?" Phil whispered, placing his hand on my shoulder and leaning into towards my ear. I flinched when I felt his hand land on me. This place was…it wasn't bringing back any happy memories. It was making me jumpy as hell just remembering the thing I saw here.

"Yeah…I just" I sighed "Bad memories" he nodded, placing his hand back into mine and giving it a comforting squeeze. I squeezed his hand back, trying to focus on him rather than the memories of blood and gore this place contained within it's walls.

"How are we supposed to find her then?"

"There are so many places she could be. I might know where she is but…"

"We could split up?"

He must have seen how alarmed I looked at the words left his mouth because he quickly added

"I mean, we'll cover more rooms that way"

"…No…please don't leave me…"

He looked panicked for a second before tightening his grip around my hand and basically dragging me down the hallway. "We'll stay together. I'll protect you, I promise"

I opened my mouth to reply but was cut of by a loud shriek.

Alice.

It had to be her.

We both exchanged looks before racing up the stairs to where the sound had come from. To hell with being quiet now. I really couldn't give two shits. Alice must have been in danger to cry like that.

Fuck.

What if we didn't make it?

I ran and ran, holding onto Phil's hand tightly as we rushed through the endless maze of corridors.

Then I saw it.

The door.

I barged into it without even thinking, my mind only set on getting to Alice before she was…No! that wasn't going to happy. Not now, not after everything id done to protect her.

I burst into the large empty room. The same room where all that blood had once pooled on the floor. A man I didn't even know sitting in the middle of his own blood while he screamed in pain and begging for mercy. Id asked mum why we were hurting him and of course she'd just replied that he deserved it.

Now standing in that room once again I was frozen in place. Just staring to the centre of the room where a table with a small bundle of blankets was sitting.

"Alice?" I asked, hearing the whimpering noises I knew belonged to her. I then ran to her, scoping her up in my arms and holding her close to my chest.

"Oh my god Alice I was so worried about you" I rushed out, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. Phil made his way over to us with a huge smile on his face and hugged us both tightly.

"I can't believe she's okay, they actually haven't harmed her" Phil grinned as he gently moved her head and arms to cheek for any marls or bruises. There were none. She was actually okay.

"Come on, lets get out of here"

"Oh no, I don't think so, Daniel"


	15. Chapter 15

That voice.

I didn't even need to look to know it was him. I clutched Alice tightly in my arms, her still whimpering softly as I held her close. I didn't even want to think about what they could have done to her. There may have been no evidence of any physical damage but she wouldn't have cried like that unless there was something seriously wrong. They probably hadn't feed her in days. Those evil bastards.

I slowly turned around, tightening my grip around Alice as I came to face him. Dad was standing in the door way with a sly smirk on his face. His eyes moved from me to Phil and back.

"Who's this then? Another one of your pathetic little friends? Oh right, I killed all your friends, didn't I?" his sickening smirk grew as his gaze met mine. I tried to look away quickly but he saw the fear in my eyes. He knew exactly how to use Phil against me now. "Oh, I see who this is. It's your stupid little boyfriend isn't it?"

"Dad…he…please don't hurt him…"

"I knew it" he growled as he made his way over to me. I kept my eyes glued to the ground as he appeared in front of me. He gave me a harsh shove, laughing in my face as he watched me struggle to stay on my feet "You are a fucking faggot! I fucking knew it!"

I saw Phil out of the corner of my eye clench his hand into a fist as he shook lightly, obviously with anger. He glared at dad, digging his nails into his palm. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Dad looked taken aback at first. It had been a long time since anyone had defied him in anyway. So Phil, being a complete stranger and having anything to do with me, saying that to him obviously surprised him. His surprise was soon overtaken by anger as he glared back at Phil. This was not going as id hoped.

"You don't treat your own son like he's some piece of crap. This may shock you but he actually has feelings!" Phil took a step towards dad, squaring up to him the best he could, looking right into dad's dark, emotionless eyes. "Get away from him now"

Dad growled softly before pushing Phil with such force that he fell backwards. I just stared in fear as that smirk returned to dad's face. Phil slowly sat up, trying to keep glaring up at dad but it was obvious he was in pain. He must have hit his head when he fell back. Dad just laughed, crouching down beside Phil and grabbing the collar of Phil's shirt.

"Look how big and tough you are now. Did you really think someone like you could protect my stupid son and his precious little whatever the fuck she's called"

"She's called Alice you piece of shit" Phil groaned as he moved a hand to hold the back of his head. If I'm being honest I was a little surprised to hear Phil swear. He's never sworn no matter what we'd argued about so hearing him swear now I knew he must have been seriously pissed off.

"Whatever" dad sneered "I don't give a fuck about her, or him"

"And why not!? He's your son. And she's your daughter. How heartless are you?"

Dad just smiled before smashing his fist into Phil's face. Phil whimpered but didn't flinch. He kept eye contact with dad as blood dripped from his nose. They both just glared at each other.

"You obviously don't know me. I'm surprised Daniel hasn't told you about everything I've done to him. If he had you would know I obviously don't have a heart"

"He told me" Phil said softly, biting his lip as he recalled that night I told him everything "You are one sick son of a bitch, you know that? Who the hell does that to their own son?"

"Me, obviously" he laughed "Oh come on. He's just so helpless and stupid I couldn't help but use him for what I wanted" the smirk returned to his face as he obviously thought of something else to say "Hey, do you want in on a little secret? Daniel completely adores you. See the whole time I was fucking him he'd whimper your name, begging for help. It was hilarious. After I was done id give him a good punch to shut him up for a while. But of course he'd go straight back to it. Crying for you to come save him. He's pathetic isn't he?"

"Dad don't please-"

"You shut the fuck up!" he screamed at me as he hit Phil again. He then shoved Phil onto his back fully, making Phil hit his head hard on the ground. Phil just lay there, his eyes closed while dad smirked down at him. Dad stood up, smiling at me as he reached behind his back. My eyes widened as I realized what he had in his hand.

A gun.

His smiled widened as he noticed the look of fear that now took over my face.

"Dad, please-" I whispered as I tried to edge towards him.

"If you dare move I will fucking kill him. Do I make myself clear?"

"What?" I asked in disbelief, tears clouding my vision as I shook my head furiously to try keep them from falling. He couldn't kill Phil. No, this couldn't happen.

"I'm not joking Daniel, you understand that right. I could easily kill him like I killed everyone else. Do you want that?"

"No! of course not. Just…please don't kill him, please! I'm begging you dad, don't hurt him!"

He shoved me again, lighter this time so I only stumbled back slightly. He now pointed the gun at me, his eyes narrowing as he spoke "I'll kill you too you little faggot! Don't you dare think you can tell me what to do!"

And in that moment I did something I never thought id do.

"Get away from me!" I shoved him away from me, holding Alice still securely in one arm. He stumbled back a few paces looking complete dumbstruck. Id never push him away. Id always just let him do what he wanted. He furrowed his brows together before straightening himself out. He closed his eyes for a moment, biting his lip. For a second I thought he was going to stop, walk away and let me go. But of course he wasn't. He opened his eyes, a new look of anger burning in his eyes. I was done for now.

"Oh? so you're a rebelling against me?" a small laugh "How cute"

I slowly backed away towards the table, keeping eye contact with him the whole time. "What are you doing boy?" he asked as he looked down at the gun still firmly in his hand.

I gave Alice one last huge hug before setting her down on the table where she was before. Dad raised his eyebrow in a questioning manor as I set her down.

"I promised id protect her no matter what. If that means exchanging my own life for hers…I'll do it"

"You can't possibly expect me to spare her life now? Id rather kill all three of you. It would be more fun that way"

"You better not lay a finger on her head or I'll kill you" I took a step towards him, trying to look as threatening as possible. A sick laughter filled the air as his smug smirk returned to his face. "How do you plan on doing that?"

I gathered all my courage before bringing my fist back and smashing it into his face as hard as I could. He actually fell back, landing with a thud on the ground. The gun fell from his hand, landing a little away from us. He held his head in his hands as he glared up at me through the spaces between his fingers.

"I can't believe you just did that" he stood up, arms by side as he looked from me to the gun "You must really hate me now. I mean, I hurt your little friend there. I think I'll kill him first" he smirked "Go on then. If you hate me that much, kill me. Id like to see you try. The gun is right there"

Seeing his expression change with my next words made adrenaline pump through my veins. Suddenly I felt invincible, like I could do anything.

"I would love too"

"You don't-"

"Shut up. You've put me through so much shit my whole life. And now you've done this to Phil? I hate you so fucking much!"

We both set eyes on the gun at the same time. We both knew what we had to do. I made a dive for it as he did too. Our fingers collided as we scratched each other in an attempt to clasp the cool mental object.

A loud bang.

A whimper.

It was over.


	16. Chapter 16

*Phil's POV*

My head throbbed as my eyes slowly slipped open. A small whimpering noise was the only sound I could hear.

Where was I?

What was going on?

I stared up at the dull ceiling before my mind suddenly snapped back to reality. That's right. We were here to get Alice and…Dan's dad. He pushed me…right? Yeah, he did. That's why my head hurt. It must have knocked me out for a while.

I groaned softly as I rubbed at the back of my head as I attempted to sit up. I was amazed I wasn't bleeding or anything. It seriously hurt so much. I closed my eyes before rubbing my temples as I hunched myself over into a sort of sitting position. I could really use some pain killers right now.

Blood.

It was all I saw when I opened my eyes. My eyes widened as my breath hitched in my throat.

Oh no.

Please oh god no.

I slowly looked to the limp body the blood was pooling around. A small sigh of relief escaped my lips.

It wasn't Dan.

My attention was drawn away from the body of Dan's father with the noise of the door clicking open. A woman stepped into the room, her brown eyes widening as she set eyes on the scene before her.

"D-Daniel"

"Shut the fuck up!"

A look of pure terror crossed her features as her eyes met with Dan's. Dan's eyes had a distant look in them as he stood up on quivering legs. He pointed the gun at the woman who I assumed was his mother with a small growl.

"Get the hell out of here and never bother me again"

"Daniel-"

"Go!"

She gave him one last look of complete panic before fleeing from the room quickly. I stood up in a hurry and made my way over to Dan who was sill pointing the gun towards the doorway. When I approached him he spun to point the gun at me with a terrified expression.

"Dan…it's me, Phil"

He lowered the gun, the same look covering his face as he looked to his shaking hands. The gun fell to the floor as tears began to drip down his cheeks.

"W-What"

He asked in a small voice I had never heard him use before. He looked completely terrified as he stared at his blood soaked hands.

"N-No…I…" he gulped, a small sob catching in the back of his throat as he bit his lip so harshly it bled. "W-What have I d-done?"

"Dan…"

"I…I d-didn't mean it" he sobbed, the tears dripping down his face as he screwed his eyes closed and took in a quick breath. I quickly wrapped my arms around his body in an attempt to comfort him. His body was shaking violently as he began to hyperventilate.

"Dan…it's okay, breathe. Please"

"I'm s-sorry. I didn't m-mean it"

"I know…look, he was…he" I paused, letting a shaking sigh pass my lips as I tightened my grip around him "He deserved it"

"B-But…I killed him!" he shirked as he struggled to get out of my grip "Let me go! Don't hurt me!"

"Dan, shh. It's okay…everything will be okay…" he stopped struggling and buried his face into my shoulder and let all his anguish pour out. All those feelings I knew he'd tried to keep inside just poured out. "I promise it will be"

He cried and cried and cried until only tiny little breaths came out and no more tears could fall. He suddenly fell quiet. I was relieved at first but then I felt all his weight fall on me. I tried to catch him but he fell to the floor before I could secure him. I ducked down and sort of caught his torso in an awkward grip as his head lulled back. I set him down carefully, crouching beside him trying to remain calm.

"Dan! Are you okay!?" I gushed, trying to hold his head straight to see if he was conscious at all.

He wasn't.

"Answer me, please!" I begged as tears began to cloud my vision. But of course, he didn't answer.

************************************************** *******************

*Dan's POV*

My eyes opened to see a white ceiling above me. I tried to move my hand, only to feel where I had clasped that gun there was now a soft mattress beneath my fingertips. A bed? Why was I in a bed?

At that moment the memories came flooding back. Shit. Id killed him. Id actually killed him. No, this wasn't good. Id go to jail for murder. Shit.

I tried to sit up a hurry, my bones aching as I obviously moved to fast for their liking.

Hospital.

That's where I was. That was even worse.

"Dan!"

I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders tightly. The bed dipped down under their weight and a small sob escaped their lips. I just stared straight a head a moment before my head caught up to what was going on.

Phil.

Phil was here and safe.

In that moment all my worries washed away as I was wrapped in his arms.

I breathed in his scent before wrapping my aching arms around his body in a just as tight embrace. He pulled back after a moment, tears in his eyes as our gazes met. "Oh thank god you're okay. I was so worried about you and…" I slowly moved my hand up to cup his cheek before managing to pull a small smile.

"I'm…okay"

"I'm so glad" he replied, quickly pulling me in for another tight hug. "I'm just so glad you're okay. I was just so worried and I just" a tear dripped onto my hospital gown before he pulled away and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry…I'm supposed to be the strong one for you. And here I am crying. I just…" he sniffed before looking up at me again "I don't know what id do without you" he gently pressed his lips against mine in a quick, gentle kiss "I just love you so much"

A proper smile spread across my face as I leaned in an captured his lips in another kiss "I love you too, I really do"

At that moment a nurse came in and gave us both a warm smile. "Sleepy heads finally awake then. I didn't think he'd ever wake up" she joked as a small laugh erupted from her. It was only after she'd spoken that I realized she was holding something in her arms. Not something, more like someone.

Alice.

The nurse made her way over to us with that smile still covering her face. "I believe this belongs to you two" she said as she carefully placed Alice in my arms. Alice squirmed about a little before looking up and smiling brightly at me.

She was okay. Everything was okay.

The nurse turned on her heels and was about to walk through the door but then stopped and looked over her shoulder at me "You sure are lucky he loves you. He's been here the whole time you were out. Man, I wish I had a relationship like you guys" he giggled before leaving the room for good this time.

"You…you really stayed with me the whole time I was unconscious?" I asked in a small voice. He nodded his eyes fluttering from Alice to me before motioning for me to shuffle over in the bed a bit so he could actually sit instead of awkwardly perch.

"Of course. I couldn't leave your side after seeing you like that" he replied like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Wow…you may be the best boyfriend ever"

"May be?" he asked, pretending to be shocked before smiling widely and kissing my cheek. I guess he was just so happy because I was acting like me again. To be honest, I was glad I was acting like me again.

I wrapped an arm loosely around his neck as I gazed into his beautiful blue eyes. Our noses touched as he slipped his arms around my waist and looked back. "I'll love you forever and ever, no matter what happens. You know that, right Dan?"

"Of course" I smiled, rubbing our noses together gently "I'll love you forever and ever too"


	17. Chapter 17 -END-

After that night things seemed to quiet down a little bit. After the…incident, no one seemed to bother us. I was glad for that really. I was a complete mess for the first few months. Having constant nightmares that made me cry out at night. The tears never seemed to stop falling as I recalled what I had done. I just tried to tell myself over and over again that I needed to do it. It was in self defence. He would have killed me if I didn't. Maybe that was the truth, but it didn't make me feel any better.

After a few months the nightmares, slowly, but surely became less and less. The tears would actually stop and I could be functional for longer. I recovered and got better slowly over those months.

By the time Alice's first birthday came around I was almost completely emotionally stable again. Well, apart from the odd little slip up here and there but I had expected that. For her birthday we did the normal sort of birthday procedure. A cake, presents, lots and lots of smiling. She had only a week before that taken her first steps so she was walking but obviously pretty unsteadily on her feet. The whole lounge area was turned into a some sort of cover palace with duvets spread across every inch of the flooring so she couldn't hurt herself to much from falling over.

I think that was the day my life suddenly began to become enjoyable again. Until then I had just been living only for Phil and Alice's sake. But then, that day made me realize I didn't just need them but they needed me. I loved them both so much. That realization was what made me think of what I did next.

A few months later I had sat Phil down and talked to him about the legal procedures of actually adopting Alice as our daughter. And of course, that meant telling the authorities all those painfully memories id tried so hard to lock away. I knew I had to. No, I knew I wanted to tell them. Tell them everything so mum would never get to see Alice again. Of course that meant confessing to the murder my own father and that would cause trouble but I had to do it. It wasn't murder though, was it? I needed to kill him. Self defence, that's all it was.

So I did tell them.

I told them everything while Phil held my hand tightly, filling in the parts I couldn't tell because the tears had once again returned. Of course this was only reporting to police offers in some little interview sort of room thing. None the less the police listened to my story with sympathetic looks on their faces the whole time. After I finished one police officer actually had tears dripping down his own face. They thanked me for my tie and promised they be back in touch.

Everything moved so fast after that. They contacted us and told me I could appear in court to give evidence against my mother. They said with evidence like I had there was no chance she would get away with this no matter how good a lawyer she had.

So then that brings us to now.

The last day of the trial.

To say I was nervous was the biggest understatement in the world. All evidence had already been given and really today was just for the juries verdict. I was absolutely terrified they would say she wasn't guilty. If that happened, she'd be released and id still have to worry about her. I really, really didn't want that to happen. I just wanted to move on with my life and be happy. Have a nice little happy family with Alice and Phil. Nothing else to worry about.

We stood outside the court, Phil squeezing my hand tightly as he noticed how tense I was.

"Dad? Why is daddy sad?" Alice asked in her small little voice as she looked up at Phil from where she stood beside him. She was nearly two now and could actually talk now. Well, to a fashion. She was with us because the result of this trial affected who got custody over her. Technically, if mum was sentenced Alice would be with me since I was her only blood relative. This of course all related to officially adopting her as well. Thankfully nothing that had happened had affected her. She was too young to remember. I was happy about that. I don't ever want to let her go through anything like that again.

A small smile tugged at Phil's lips before he crouched down to Alice's height and looked into her chocolate brown eyes. "He's not sad, he's just nervous" he paused a minute, obviously thinking about how to explain it to her "He has lots of butterflies in his tummy" he Added as he lightly tickled Alice's stomach. She squealed as he tickled her, her mouth curving into a huge grin.

"Butterflies don't go in tummy's" she said in a rather serious tone as she peered up at me with a concerned expression. I laughed softly, crouching down beside Phil and ruffling her slightly curly brown hair. "There's not actual butterflies silly"

She just looked even more confused at this but the thought obviously left her head as she was quickly distracted by something else.

I stood up again, a small sigh escaping my lips as I was reminded of reality. This was it. This was the day my life could be destroyed or made better forever.

************************************************** *******************

"Will the foreman please stand"

A young brunette woman in a smart blouse with big green eyes stood up confidently as she looked from me to mum then to the judge.

"Have you reached a verdict on which you all agree?"

"Yes" she clearly spoke.

"Do you find the defendant, Mrs Howell, guilty of child abuse, attempted murder and murder?"

Phil squeezed my hand comfortingly as he kept his eyes glued on the member of the jury. The woman looked around the other members of the jury at their little nods of agreement before she took a quick breath in.

"Guilty"

There were several quiet mumbles among the gallery as the words left her mouth. I just stared in shock, the words not making sense in my head. Guilty. She was guilty. I couldn't believe it.

"Is that the final verdict of you all?"

"Yes"

There was complete silence as the judge sentenced her to what she deserved. Life in prison. Slowly people left, the jury first then the gallery until there were only a few people still left in the court room. I still couldn't believe it. This was it. I was completely free now.

"We did it" Phil whispered before softly pressing his lips to mine as a smile tugged at his lips. I couldn't help but smile too. Everything would actually be okay now. The social worker who was sitting with us gave us her blessings before leaving several papers with us and also leaving. The smile on my face grew as it hit me what this meant. Alice would be ours. After these papers were filled out and the other procedures were done Alice would be completely ours. No more running. No more hiding.

We could live normally now.

"Come on, lets get going" Phil said with a smile as he stood up. Alice shuffled her way off her seat and squeezed past Phil's legs so she stood between us. She held her hand out to me with a small smile. I knew she was too young to understand anything that had just happened but she seemed to understand how happy we all were. I stood up, picking her up in my arms and hugging her close to me. I was so incredibly happy.

"Where finally safe Alice" I whispered more to myself than anyone else.

"What daddy?" she asked as she squirmed around until I placed her on the ground so she could look into my eyes. "Nothing Alice" I held her hand squeezing it lightly as a smile was permanently plastered on my face. Phil took a hold of her other hand as we slowly began making our way out of the room. There were many people in the foyer who smiled and congratulated us on our win. Alice seemed to do a lot of the smiling and replies for us as she grinned up at them. Of course everyone had to also comment on how absolutely adorable Alice was.

We eventually escaped the crowds in the building and made our way outside. We stopped just in front of the car, Phil looking over to me with a wide smile on his face.

"Ready to go home?"

And for the first time I was ready. Home was now with him and Alice. The one place I was truly happy.

"Of course"


End file.
